Credit: AP Photo
The San Diego Padres have remained active on the free agent market… and one of their latest moves may have been manifested.
The Padres have reportedly signed left-hander D.J. Snelten to a minor league contract. It is unknown whether the left-hander will get an invite to MLB Spring Training.
D.J. Snelten has been signed.#Padres are in agreement on a minor league deal with 33-year-old LHP D.J. Snelten, a league source tells me.
Snelten, who last pitched in the Majors in 2018, recently touched 102.7 mph in a bullpen and has consistently sat 99 mph this offseason.… https://t.co/6gixsTrpOh
— Ari Alexander (@AriA1exander) December 23, 2025
Snelten’s signing is the sort that comes as a result of social media and recruiting, as the left-hander’s camp posted a bullpen video of the former Padres & Giants draftee.
For those who may recall (or those who followed the MLB Draft’s later rounds back in the day), the Padres drafted Snelten out of high school in the 30th round of the 2010 draft. This was the same draft that brought the Padres names like Jedd Gyorko, Johnny Barbato, and… Rocky Gale?
Snelten did not sign with the Padres; instead, attending the University of Minnesota. The southpaw saw his name called in the ninth round by San Francisco in 2013, signing with the Giants. After two seasons as a starter, he was converted to a relief arm in 2016, and he made it to the majors in 2018.
The left-hander’s first foray into the major leagues started fairly well, as he allowed one run in his first 2.1 innings.
However, his fourth career outing saw him get torched for four earned runs in two innings of mop-up duty against Philadelphia. He was then designated for assignment to make way for Dereck Rodriguez. Baltimore then claimed the left-hander on waivers, only to outright him off the roster two weeks later.
Snelten’s command regressed in 2018, and he went on to spend 2019 in Independent Ball with the American Association’s Chicago Dogs. The southpaw was the team’s second-best starter by ERA, trailing only former Padre minor leaguer Luke Westphal. This earned Snelten an invitation to Tampa Bay’s 60-man player pool for the 2020 season, though he was never assigned to the 40-man roster.
D.J. Snelten signed a minor league deal with the Cubs after 2020 but did not pitch in any recorded game action until 2023 with the Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate. His 30 games in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre saw results that were not ideal:
30 G, 36 IP, 7.50 ERA, 6.82 FIP, 6.20 xFIP, 26.8% K, 23.5% BB
After a stint with the White Sox and reported signing with the Angels that produced no in-game numbers, Snelten took his talents to Tread Athletics, where he worked on adding velocity to his game.
In his early pro career, Snelten sat in the low-90s on his fastball. However, he has added significant velocity since then.
In his recruiting videos, Snelten’s fastball has seen an uptick in velocity thanks to mechanical changes, averaging 97-99 mph. The biggest calling card with the heater is the velo’s upside, as he has topped out at 102.7 mph off the mound. The fastball is the calling card with the left-hander, who complements his arsenal with a changeup and slider. The slider sits at 84-88 mph with the changeup at 82-85 according to the Trackman data. Snelten also features a curveball in the 80-82 mph range that does showcase some vertical drop, but remains more of a tertiary offering.
The biggest change with Snelten has been his mechanics.
Coming up and when he debuted, D.J. Snelten had a long arm action where his delivery was somewhat herky-jerky, much like Alex Wood. While this added some deception to his game, it essentially killed momentum down the mound, leading to fastball velocities in the high-80s/low-90s.
Upon training with Tread Athletics and other camps, his mechanics went from a start-and-stop to more of a drop-and-drive, allowing him to use his center of gravity to build momentum down towards the plate. Shortening up his arm action aided as well, as Snelten no longer fully extended the left arm during the wind-up. Keeping the arm at an angle allowed him to get the ball out with more momentum, playing into the 100+ mph formula.
Here is Snelten in 2018:
And here he is in 2025:
There aren’t many LHPs on the planet that can touch 102mph. D.J. Snelten is one of them.
Developing this type of elite stuff is trainable.
Here’s a quick snapshot into our thought process approaching the tall task of going from 90-92mph to 102mph.
Philosophy,
• Prioritize… pic.twitter.com/pE5rLzjiu2
— Nick Sanzeri (@SanzeriBaseball) May 27, 2024
With Snelten, San Diego is adding an upper-minors depth arm with impressive velocity. Snelten’s command remains to be seen, as in his last taste of full-season affiliated ball, he struggled with walks.
Likely to open the season at Triple-A El Paso, the organization is surely excited to see what the left-hander can bring to the table. If everything pans out, the left-hander could carve out a middle to late inning role with San Diego and has a full window of team control.
A born and raised San Diegan, Diego Garcia is a lifetime Padres fan and self-proclaimed baseball nerd. Diego wrote about baseball on his own site between 2021-22 before joining the East Village Times team in 2024. He also posts baseball content on his YouTube channel “Stat Nerd Baseball”, creating content around trades, hypotheticals, player analyses, the San Diego Padres, and MLB as a whole.
A 2024 graduate of San Diego State, Diego aims to grow as a writer and content creator in the baseball community.
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